Fast Forward

Whether Weather Matters

Yep. This week we’re talking weather. Probably one of the most conversational topics we’ll cover this year. Everyone talks about the weather. Whether you’re trying to figure out how to plan your day or simply stuck in an awkward situation where there’s nothing to say. Somehow talking about the weather always seems to move things along.

I watch the weather. And I definitely watched the forecast last week, when we headed to The Weather Channel in Marietta. I secretly hoped an isolated thunderstorm would suddenly pop up over Cobb County during our visit. Why? I thought, perhaps a few atmospheric disturbances while conducting interviews would create our own storm of video footage.

Imagine Jim Cantore scurrying down the hallway, running into the studio, looking over his shoulder every other step to see the latest Doppler Radar images. Pulling up multiple maps on the many monitors lining the Global Forecast Center, studying each before turning to the camera.

Oh, wait. Back up. Back way up.

If we were having severe thunderstorms, Jim would be outside somewhere getting soaked, hoodie flapping in the wind – microphone held close.

Never mind. We didn’t need a storm; we had meteorologists.

We spoke to Jennifer Carfagno, Nick Wiltgen, and Jonathan Erdman along with several others. The crew learned about barometric pressure, dew points and thunder snow. We became glossy eyed looking at all of the state-of-the-art technology. And sure, we played around with the green screen for a few minutes because that never gets old.

Now that I’ve been better educated about why it may ‘feel’ hotter than the actual temperature and how dew points affect hair days; I am able to carry on an intellectual conversation about the weather and how it will affect your day. That’s cool.

To answer whether weather matters seems silly to me. Of course it does. It matters to every person, every where, every day.

It matters because it affects our crops across Georgia. That matters because crops affect the price of our food and clothing. Weather matters when you’re at a loss for words and need something to talk about. It matters whether it’s extremely hot, frigid cold or just right. Weather matters. And I'm glad there are folks out there who are passionate about reporting the weather, so I can plan my day. Whew!